With a happy marriage, four healthy kids, and a wildly popular new HGTV show, Chelsea Houska is on top of the world right now.
But no one gets to that level of excitement and success without attracting some haters, so it’s no wonder so many people are throwing stones at Chelsea these days.
For the most part, the vitriol is harmless social media trolling.
But it looks as if the company is taking it a step further by fighting Houska in court.
As previously reported, Chelsea and her husband Cole DeBoer are being sued by a consulting firm called Envy.
Envy said the promotion she did for Chelsea and Cole’s social media pages helped earn the couple millions.
He said DeBoers lied about how much he earned from the promotion, thereby undercutting Envy by $3 million.
Envy filed suit against Chelsea and Cole last year, and there was a time when it looked like the pair would settle out of court, if only to avoid more bad press.
Perhaps they’re pumped up because the HGTV show has been picked up for a second season, or maybe they’re just not happy paying millions when they don’t believe they’re doing anything wrong.
Anyway, it seems that DeBoers has refused to settle, and will soon face off Envy in court.
“The parties are not seeking a settlement conference at this time,” read a court document obtained this week by a British tabloid Sun.
“Chelsea and Cole breached their contract by directing certain Brands to directly pay Chelsea, Cole, one of the other Shared Clients, and/or another person or entity to avoid paying Envy’s License Fees,” read the lawsuit filed by the plaintiff.
“Chelsea and Cole failed to disclose these instructions and payments to Envy and failed to pay Envy License Fees due.”
Envy went on to say that Chelsea and Cole ignored the deal by “failing.[ing] to do” sponsored content work for many companies, including Bombay Hair Wand, Carseat Canopy, Diff, Fab Fit Fun, Loving Tan, Profile Sanford, Sugar Bear Hair, Timeless Organics, and more.
Chelsea and Cole were also accused of making a secret deal so that Envy would not get a cut of the proceeds.
“Chelsea and Cole are currently negotiating a branding and licensing agreement with a Joint Client that will be executed by, and paid for through, the Hidden Entity,” Envy’s attorneys said in a filing.
“Chelsea and Cole received, and continue to receive, revenue earned by Shared Clients through the Properties through the Brand’s Hidden Entities.”
Obviously, the suit could damage Chelsea and Cole’s reputations, if only because it reminded fans that the self-conscious DeBoers were so good that they made him a multi-million dollar offer.
But clearly, the couple weighed their options and decided that a lengthy court battle was worth the risk.
We’ll keep you posted! This can get messy!